Expensive price to pay
by Sendrick-Bechloe
Summary: When the murder of Luke Beale got official, people started speculating. Whoever it might be. The person was going down (rating might change if i keep this up.)


**A/N: this was not original a fanfic, but school project. I used both Snow and Beale as a name. If it is a few "Anna's or Alexi's" it is obviously Beca ans Stacie. I was not using their pp names in the story. This is original a oneshot but i can ofc keep working on it if you guys want me to. Please Follow and Favorite if you like. And leave a review if you want me to keep up the story :)) And also swearing was blurred out bc it was for school and i was to lazy yo remove it :P**

The weekend before Chloe's birthday her stepfather took her out skiing in the mountains of Portland Maine. That was when the murder happened.

It all happened one day in march. When the teenager Chloe Snow and Martín Beale were out skiing, the local news came with a shocking message. A young man was found dead. They didn't know when or where, but he had been murdered. He was found just outside of town, killed with a knife, stabbed in the chest. They had concluded it happened that day or night. It was only a few hours after the Snow – Beale family had left the town. I, personally, did not know about this before I saw the police walk around in the streets of our town. _I didn't know about the murder of a fellow teenager, Luke Beale._

We live in a small town. My family and I live in a little house a few miles away from Barden High school. A few blocks away from where the Snow family lives. Chloe and her mother lived alone for a few years before her mother came home with Martín and his son, Luke. They are a very, I repeat a VERY wealthy family. Their house is gigantic.

"Beca" I yelled when I walked into her bedroom. Beca was wearing her big headphones, covering her ears. She was concentrating on whatever is on the paper sheet she has in her hand. Her eyes were glued to the paper reading quietly. Her eyes. Beca is a really beautiful person, but her eyes makes her just shine. Makes her stand out. Her stormy blue eyes. The eyes that never looked scared. The eyes that belonged to my very best every other teen she had a messy room. Her desk was under her window with two monitors, a keyboard and mouse resting on the desk. The monitor to the left was showing a program, coding god knows what. The other monitor displayed some kind of music related things, which I didn't recognize. Beside her desk she kept her keyboard and guitar. The bed was messy with tons of folders and notes scattered around. Beca was focusing on her notes without realizing my presence. I looked around the room. I thought about just scaring her, but Beca would probably go up in flames, so why bother, I thought. Instead of scaring her I decided to just rip off her headphones. "What?!" The younger girl snarled at me. Her eyes glared at me coldly. Despite her small frame, with her 5.2 feet above the ground, she seemed kind of threatening. "Let's go outsiiiide" I whined, dragging her out of the chair. The small girl pushed me away from her, clearly infuriated , but she only got a giggle in response. "Can you stop that?" The brunette looked at me annoyed before putting the paper down on her keyboard. "What could possibly be so important outside, Stacie?" She sounded irritated and said my name with a heavy voice. "Nothing _that_ important..." I gazed at her playfully. For the probably hundredth time today, she gazed at me before rolling her eyes at me. "Buuuut" I held my u long, encouraging her to ask me "what?". She sighed heavily "What is that, Stacie?" Just the look in her eyes, it was hilarious I felt kinda bad for annoying her so much, but at the same time I kinda didn't. "Some small girls are selling cookies outside. Wanna go and get some with me?" She looked at me annoyed again. "And why exactly can't you do this alone?" The brunette asked exasperated before leading me out to the hall. "Because I don't want to go alone. I want to go with you." I laughed at her while grabbing my jacket. "Of course you do."

We had just walked outside when we heard a man's voice yell after us. "Well look at that. The goth girl finally left her room. You are aware of the fact that it is day, right? I have only seen you walk at night. You are sure you did not see anything the night to the 22nd?!" he brawled at us. I turned around to get greeted by an angry old man. What the f***. He looked about 60. He had dark hair and was wearing a coat. Who wears a coat in summer? I sensed Beca tensing up beside me. "No I am sorry, Sir, but I did not." Beca grabbed my arm before dragging me down the street. "Did he just accuse you of Luke's murder?" I looked at her. "He sure did." She mumbled back. She increased the speed walking down the neighborhood. Her hair was jumping up and down, like it couldn't keep up the pace. She was clearly annoyed.

"Hey guys wait up!" I turned around to find a panting Chloe sprinting after us. "I. Am. So … Sorry. For my. Dad's behavior." The redhead tried to catch her breath between each word and it was hard to understand what she was saying. I looked at the redhead, grabbing Beca's arm to let her catch up. Beca looked away, looking VERY uninterested in the redhead. I, on the other hand, could not look away. She was flawless. Chloe was tall with long, wavy red hair with the most beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't help myself when I found myself staring at her, just below her head, at a more inappropriate place. Her enticing eyes and face made it so hard to not answer her, but I decided to stay quiet considering it was Beca, Martín had yelled at. "Whatever" Beca completely ignored the other teen. Very typical Beca behavior. Chloe looked a bit hurt. Probably surprised by Beca's rude behavior. She bit her lip before asking me "Is she always like that?" Again, I wanted to answer her, but it would be wrong of me if I answered. Even though it technically was a question for me, it was about Beca. "Wow you're definitely your father's daughter. Just as judgmental." Beca was dead serious when she turned towards the redhead, looking her dead in the eyes. "I am not related to him, thank you." Chloe mumbled back. The rock on the ground had suddenly become very interesting because it was all Chloe could look at, at the moment. "It is called influence. **Bad** influence." Chloe looked down at her shoes kicking the same rock she was staring at just two seconds ago. "I know my _step-_ father was rude. I am sorry, Beca" Chloe made sure she emphasized the "step-" part. Maybe she was ashamed of her stepfather?

Beca continued walking down the neighborhood with me and Chloe behind her. "So… I have seen you visiting Beca a lot. You guys close?" Chloe asked me curiously. "Stalker" Beca said. Her voice was light, almost like she sang it. "Huh?" The redhead looked at me confused again. "I said stalker." Beca turned around. "I am not a stalker!" Chloe gasped, trying to defend herself. "And it's not like you don't send a few looks over at us either." Chloe stuttered. "One, you just proved you are a stalker. Two, are you surprised? There are like a million policemen at your house every five minutes." Beca lifted an eyebrow. She was obviously doing this just to annoy Chloe. "Very true." The redhead chuckled. "Now that I know you guys and now that we are friends, tell me something about yourself." Chloe pointed at me. "Hey, I did not agree with being your friend." I sent Beca an ugly look before turning to Chloe. "Well seems like we've got a very outgoing person over here..." I answered the redhead who nodded back. "To answer your question: I like sports, Beca likes music and we both do decent in school" I smiled at the new girl. "Correction: Stacie is GOOD at sports; I am GREAT with music, and we both do EXCELLENT in school." Chloe applauded after Beca finished her sentence, laughing. "So both A students then?" Chloe giggled. I nodded back. "Beca does get the best grades, but we're both A students. Beca is also a musical prodigy." I explained to the newcomer. Chloe looked at me in awe. "A prodigy? Really? I am impressed." Beca looked away, embarrassed. "My Gran will love you!" Chloe burst out excitedly. "Please join me for dinner!" "Scuse me?!" Beca looked shocked, staring at the redhead. "We just met and I know I am awesome and stuff, but don't you think it's a bit early to ask me on a date?" Beca lifted an eyebrow at Chloe who started giggling. "I know it is early, but my Grandmother is here this Easter, as always, and they are going to talk a lot about Luke's death and stuff. And I don't really want to. So I would love to have some company."

That was how Beca and I got dragged into an almost-stranger's house. Like I have mentioned earlier her house is absolutely gigantic. Chloe led us through a billion different rooms ending up in what I assumed was her bedroom. Her bedroom was the same size as my living room. Unlike Beca's room, hers had been cleaned and organized. The walls were painted in a white-ish color and matching her white curtains. "Miss Snow, your parents are expecting you in the dining room." An elderly man had walked into the room. He was dressed in a suit with white gloves. "Okay, thank you. We will be there in a minute." Chloe answered smiling. "And he was…?" Beca looked questioningly at the blonde. Chloe had walked over to her bed before shrugging off her denim jacket, leaving her in a simple white blouse. "Oh, that is Sebastian. Our butler." The girl answered calmly leaving us stunned. I was in shock. Did she just say butler!? I glanced over at Beca for support. It appeared like she was just as shocked because all she could do was open and close her mouth. "You have a butler!?" Beca looked back and forth between us. "Stacie, she has a butler. What… she… Oh my god" The brunette was completely paralyzed. Her eyes were wide open. She shakes her head before mumbling to herself. "She has a freaking butler. Of course, why wouldn't she." We exchanged a gaze. I didn't even know how to react. We both turned towards Chloe who was leaning against the bed, dying of laughter.

If Chloe hadn't showed us the way to the dining room I would have been lost. It is like a maze in here. It is huge. The room looked exactly like how you would imagine a rich family's dining room looks. It had a long table with 10 chairs around it. At one end of it three adults were sitting and talking quietly. Martín was sitting at the head of the table. He smiled smugly at us. Like he knew something we did not know. A younger woman with platinum blonde hair was seated to his left. She was leaning back against her chair. She had blue eyes. The woman had to be Chloe's mother. She smiled at us before pointing at the chair beside her. Anna and I slowly followed Chloe. It felt so unnatural to just barge into a private conversation. I hadn't noticed the old woman before sitting down next to Anna. She looked a lot like Martín: The same brown eyes, the only difference was that her eyes actually looked kind.

"Hello darling" The elder woman leaned over the table and petted Chloe on the head. Chloe grinned in return. "Hello grandmother" Chloe looked over at us before she started to introduce us. "Grandmother, father, mother. This is Stacie and Beca. They both live in this neighborhood." Beca and I nodded in confirmation. "Oh yes, I remember _you_." Martín looked at Beca icily, but she only responded by shifting away from him. "So what are you guys talking about?" Chloe asked. She smiled at her grandmother. "Well actually we were talking about Luke." The mention of Luke made me uncomfortable and I just wanted to leave. "Yes. This is a really big mystery. We obviously want to find out who this cruel culprit is. And lock him or _her_ away." The way Martín said "her" made a shiver run down my spine. I saw Beca'seyes lock on something. She was pissed. She turned her head and was just about to fire back. Thankfully Chloe's grandmother interrupted her. "Oh calm down, Martín. We have to wait. I am sure the police will figure it out." I could see in Martín's eyes that he was not satisfied with the response. "I know it is a tradition, but maybe we should not set out the egg this Easter." Chloe's grandmother sounded thoughtful. I had no idea what she was talking about. "Oh no, Martha we have to. I am sure Luke wouldn't want it any other way. We have to display the egg. I love it very much and I know my son did too." Martín looked at his mother, almost begging her to reveal whatever they were talking about. The woman caught sight of her son, obviously thinking about what to do. She looked at Chloe's mother before sighing. "I even thought about not even taking it along with me at all, but I guess it will be displayed once again." In the corner of my eye I sense Anna leaning forward slightly to see what Martha is about to pull out of her purse. My eyes widen as I see a red jewelry box. Just the box itself is breathtaking. My curiosity built up. I could only gasp when the object inside was revealed. "No. I can't believe my eyes!" Beca exclaimed loudly. "Is… Is it real?!" Beca looked at the inside of the box in awe. "It is" Chloe confirmed. "Umm. I don't mean any disrespect, but what is that exactly?" The guilt and washed over me when Anna sent me an upset look. Was I supposed to know what this was? "You don't know what this is?! It is a Fabergé egg!" Beca looked like she had just had a small stroke. She was amazed. I stared down at it. I mean I could obviously tell that it was an egg... I am not that blind. It was ruby red with a diamond shaped pattern with white embellishments. The diamond pattern was made of gold. It looked like golden vines hugging a white flower. On top, it held a beautiful diamond.

"It was supposed to be Luke's egg." I looked up. Martha let out a long sigh. "I was going to give it to him as a college graduation gift. But I guess I won't be able to do that now." She looked so defeated as she sat there with the egg in front of her. "It is beautiful, Martha. Giving your grandson such a valuable gift." Beca 'svoice was soft, like she was trying to comfort her. Even though Beca was talking directly to the elderly woman her eyes were set on Martín. "You seem to know a lot about the egg, Beca" Chloe glanced at the brunette, elbowing her side. "I mean I know you are smart, but really, how do you know so much?" Beca turned around towards Chloe. "I don't really know that much about it. Just that Peter Carl Fabergé made them, and they are very valuable. It is very interesting how you decided to give it to Luke, and not in the more…. traditional heritage." Beca looked at the egg again. Her eyes were lost in thought. "Yes. I had even planned on going to sign the official papers with him the weekend he...The weekend he died." "That weekend...The weekend you two drove out of the states!" Anna cut Martha off. I could see the wheels in her head spinning.

" _AM I THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS?!_ " Everyone got shocked out of their thoughts when Martín started yelling. Before anyone could react, he dragged Beca'schair backwards and pushed her off of it in one quick movement. I was completely paralyzed. My eyes fluttered when I heard Beca scream. _**"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"**_ Beca's arms were forced behind her back and Martín had one arm around her neck. " **SHE** IS THE MURDERER!" I gasped loudly. Everyone was standing frozen, looking in disbelief. " _Isn't it_ _ **obvious**_ _!?_ It is too me! I saw her walking outside on the 22nd. And why would anyone know anything about the Fabergé!? She killed him! And now she wants the egg!" He yelled at us loudly. Everything was happening in a blur. Martin screaming. Him telling us Beca killed Luke. The police. The police cars' sirens. Everything. My best friend, a murderer. She couldn't be, right? But he wasn't wrong. She was outside the 22nd. She told me. I saw her pass by my house. She does know a lot. But so do I. And even I did not know about the Fabergé egg. Maybe, _maybe_ she is the murderer.

Everyone was completely oblivious to the outside world. We just answered the police's questions. Followed them outside. Looking, talking, explaining. Like a fog in front of my eyes. It all happened so fast.

Her stormy blue eyes. The stormy blue eyes, that never looked scared. The eyes that always carried such confidence in them. They looked at me so sad, scared, confused, defeated. "Stacie. Please." Her voice was so weak. She did not fight the policeman when he pulled her towards to the car. She just looked at me. "Stacie. You know it wasn't me. I would never. You know that. I know who the murder is. And so does you. _He is right in front of you_." She cast me one last look before being pushed into the car.

And she was right. I did know who the killer was. Because only one person here was so cold hearted that he cared about money more than family. _**Only one person here was so cold hearted he could take a life.**_


End file.
